Time Keeps Slippin', Slippin' Away

Well. I  had no idea it had been nearly FIVE months since I fell down the Instagram hole and left my blog on the wayside. About the time we entered the 21st century and got smart phones, I guess. I'm still old-school in that I "do" email and most of my online time is on my laptop. We'll thank old Mother Nature for the need of a big screen. Ahem.

So what's happening here on the prairie? Harvest is in full swing. Greg's company finished seed corn harvest a few weeks ago. Now it's the farmers who are cutting down the corn fields. We love it when the world opens up again and we can see far and wide across the prairie. There has been some hard frost, so the minute pirate bugs are no longer making warm afternoons miserable. Sunrises and sunsets are stunning.

The family is doing well. Jessica and the kids are still living here with us. Some days are awesome, some days are long, but we are blessed to have them.

Bradley's losing teeth left and right, Silas is learning to read, and Layla is talking a blue streak. All are happy and healthy. Jess is hoping to be able to move out by spring, but I think they'll stay close.

I'm still enjoying my part-time job as assistant manager at the local movie theater. It's a great opportunity to get out of the house and see people and balances all of the alone time I have while everyone is gone during the day.

I am truly home alone since our sweet 10 year-old cat, Max, passed away last week. He was an indoor/outdoor cat and we knew the risks of letting him out. He insisted, and we acquiesced. He paid the price.  We have a moratorium on pets for awhile.

Last spring Jess and I got booth space at the local flea market store in town. Admittedly, we don't put much time into it, but have had some fun searching out deals with "the booth" in mind. Jess scored a few piles of pallets over the summer and we've been tearing those apart and putting them back together as wine racks and serving trays. There is a holiday boutique next week in town, and we've rented a space to sell some of our creations there.

The garden did not do great this year, but again, I didn't put lots of effort into it. We enjoyed some homegrown cucumbers - our single plant really produced nicely. We did add a few new raised beds, and the compost from the plant nursery had pumpkin seeds, so there is a lovely crop of pie pumpkins and assorted gourds out there.

So that's about it for catching up this evening. I have several things to tell you about in the next few weeks, so I hope you stick around!